As a brand advertising itself over any platform, your primary objective would be to increase click-through rates to gain visibility and potential customers, leading to better ROIs. Now, obviously, this sequence can go the other way too, since all the factors are directly proportional to each other. This is the point where the advertising copy strategy comes into play.
While creating an advertising copy strategy, ensure it has the potential of not only wooing the audience but also keeping them actively interested and literally blowing their minds!
Types of Advertising Strategies
1. Human Interest Ad Copy
It focuses on using human emotions and feelings to sell a business. It defines the product's features to entice people into buying it for themselves or their family and friends. The primary types of human interest ad copies include humor, fear, predicament, and story copy.
2. Educational Ad Copy
The educational ad copy is more of a product's introduction to the customer. It enlists the features of the product to the potential customer to warmly welcome them to their business.
3. Reason Why? Ad Copy
These ad copies aim at a person's intellect, providing them with reasons and facts why buying the advertised product is better than other competing brands. It appeals by providing references, testimonials, and guarantees to the customer.
4. Institutional Ad Copy
Also known as prestige or corporate advertising, institutional ad copy does not aim to sell a product but promote the manufacturer or the brand as a reliable company that a customer can fully trust. It aims to get the viewer to the outlets to check out the brand as a whole instead of a particular product.
5. Suggestive Ad Copy
This copy indirectly suggests that viewers purchase products from the advertised brand. It conveys the message when the consumer is confused about their decision.
6. Expository Ad Copy
As the name suggests, expository ad copy exposes the characters of the brand's product or service, presenting the viewer with all the benefits, uses, and applications they would derive from it.
How to Write Good Ad Copy?
The ad copy should be effective, practical, and impactful. It is not just about the text written in it but also includes the imagery and other enticing tools used to draw the viewer's attention.
Here are some powerful advertising copy strategies to compel potential customers into buying your service -
1. Analyze Your Competition
To understand the working of your business market, you should learn from your likely competitors. Use spying tools to know how your competition's brand works and what improves their CTR. You will learn from the mistakes they make and solve them by watching your competitors, and you can improve upon those missed chances to gain more customers. It will also give you the idea of which keywords are most searched for your PPC competitors to add to your heading.
Make your ads more persuasive and appealing so that it compels the viewers to click through your ads. It is important to remember that while you're watching what works for your competition, you should not entirely copy them, as this will reduce your chances of coming through for Google. Also, you can use the designs that work best and are fool-proof in attracting customers, but do not rely exclusively on them as viewers get bored of similar designs, and worse, they can even block your ad.
Tools to Spy on Your Competition -
Tool #1 - Semrush: If there's any tool specially made for SEO strategies, it is Semrush. Although there are several features that Semrush provides its user, the most common is for searching for best-used and analyzing competitors keywords.
Tool #2 - SpyFu: You can search Google Ads for your competitor that makes the most profits using the SpyFu tool. It helps rank the most used keywords for your PPC competitor, which you can then add to your banner.
Tool #3 - AdPlexity: Keep track of all the Google Ads that make your competitor more profitable than you. You can view different sources like mobile and desktop and separately search your competitor's strong points using the AdPlexity tool.
2. Use Site Link Extensions on Google
Site links or Ad link extensions on Google are the additional links you can provide in your main advertisement. For ease of understanding, you can think of them as mini ads. These help the business showcase its other products that might attract the viewer more without taking away the focus from the main ad. These can be found under your primary ad.
Site link extensions have been around in Google Ads for a long time, but very few ad creators use them. They might take a little effort but are an excellent and easy way to shoot up CTRs for any brand.
To create site link extensions for your business, follow the steps below -
Step #1 - Go to your Google Ads account and click on the Ads & Extensions option in the left menu. Select Site Link Extensions.
Step #2 - On the left top side of the page, you have the options to insert- create an extension on the account, campaign, and ad group level in the add to menu.
Step #3 - Add site link texts. Texts include the heading and the optional description for your ad link extensions.
If you handle large, complex campaigns, you can use Google Ads Editor. It smoothens your work and makes creating new site link extensions a cakewalk.
Use-Cases for Effective Site Link Extensions for Your Advertising Copy Strategy -
A. To View Product and Service Categories -
The ad example below has extensions for all the products the owner sells at their store.
B. To Display Promotional Offers -
Ad link extensions are a great way to promote your offers and limited-time sales. This extension also creates an urgent need that is hard to resist by the customers.
C. To Provide Information -
The given image clearly states products and information that the viewer might require to buy those items.
D. To Show Features and Build Trust -
Here the ad provides the potential customer links to pages on why and how they can buy the product advertised. It gives the viewer a reason for comparison and appeals to them, which builds trust, and helps convert them.
E. Promoting Popular Products and Services -
In the given ad example, Nike promotes its already popular products so the viewer can directly head to the link of those highlighted products, increasing your CTR.
Additional Information About Site Link Extensions -
- You can add a maximum of 35 characters for the heading and 25 characters for the description.
- You can add a minimum of two site links in your Google ads for them to show up.
- You can add different final URLs to each site link. Google will only show one URL once; hence adding the same URL to multiple ad link extensions will not help you.
- You can set the time for each site link to be visible. This option works best for business-time exclusive services like customer support or walk-in meetings.
- You can further add time duration for every site link using the schedule menu, after which Google will permanently remove them. You can use this option when promoting a limited-time offer.
- You can specify mobile-friendly optimization for every site link so Google will show that link on top.
3. Create Expanded Text Ads
The new feature of Google to expand text ads allows you to describe your proposition in detail and gives you more clickable space on the ad.
Features of Expanded Text Ads -
A. Three Headlines: You can add three headings to your ad compared to the two headings available in older ad formats. You may not be able to entice the customer with your first heading, but this feature gives you two additional chances to attract the customer.
B. Two Descriptions: Now, you can add two descriptions instead of one with a maximum limit of 90 words each.
C. Mobile-Friendly: The updated format of expanded text ads is already optimized to work on mobiles and across all other devices. You can add your mobile-friendly links to the extensions without worrying about them not appearing in mobile searches.
D. Clean Final URL: The final URL shown to the viewer by Google will be clean without the paths you add to the ad.
For example, if your linked URL is -
https://www.dashclicks.com/fulfillment/
Then the provided URL will be -
https://www.dashclicks.com
E. Add Two Separate Paths to the Final URL: You can further add two paths to the final URL that lead the customer to two different pages on your website.
For example, in the link below, there are two separate paths -
https://www.dashclicks.com/fulfillment/google-ads/
4. Choose Your Bid Adjustments
Google Ads has presented an excellent option for adjusting schedules for your advertisements. Bid adjustments enable you to choose when, where, how often, and what device your ad should appear on.
The Working of Bid Adjustments -
Bid adjustments are settled in percentages. With every increase in a bid, a positive value is added to your total amount per ad. Similarly, with every reduction in the bid, a negative value is added to your final bid, reducing it.
For example, if you have an ad with a cost per click (CPC) bid of 1 USD, you can adjust the bid in two ways -
A. Increase the Bidding -
To increase the bid, you can increase the percentage of bidding. For instance, adding 10% will give you a total final bid of 1.10 USD.
B. Decreasing the Bidding -
Use decrease the bid and select your percentage. For instance, reducing 10% will make your total bid 0.90 USD.
Types of Bid Adjustments -
- Device
- Location
- Ad schedule
- Interactions
- Demographics
- Top content (advanced)
- Targeting methods (advanced)
- Remarketing lists for search ads (advanced)
Bidding Adjustments-
A. Automated Bidding
Automated smart bidding adjustment tools and strategies can be used to target CPA, ROAS, conversions, etc. However, you cannot make manual adjustments in automated bidding. But you can change the values of your targets but not the bidding themselves.
B. Multiple Bidding
When you add more than one bid for an ad, they all get multiplied to give a total bid amount. The maximum bid amount is 900%, and the lowest is -90%. You can adjust multiple bidding for devices, locations, and display networks.
5. Let Your Prospects Act
An excellent ad copy strategy is to involve your viewers in your campaigns. Invite them to your website to check out more of your products and services. This will improve your CTRs and ROIs and possibly convert the viewers into your customers. Add call-to-actions and forms for your prospects to use to visit your brand. CTAs give them the power to choose whether they want to see your advertised brand or not. A higher position also intrigues your customers more towards your brand.
The CTAs should be clear and direct. To entice your viewers into your offers, include words like call now, join today, etc.
6. Mention Your Promo Clearly
The viewer scrolling through their feed page will probably not realize that they left an advertisement that might be useful to them if your ad copy doesn't have attractive elements. Following are some points you should remember when creating the ad copy-
- Keep it simple and clearly speak your intent,
- Do not clutter the banner with too many elements. Instead, add a few features that will make an impact,
- Make the ad copy as creative and relevant as possible,
- Keep your customer's wants in mind while designing the campaign,
- Add a direct and powerful CTA for your viewer to take action
7. Add Keywords to Your Headings
Using successful keywords will match your ads to the customer's intent when searching for a similar service or product on Google.
While creating a good keyword list, take the following considerations -
A. Create a List of Your Products
To begin, you will have to enlist all the products and services you sell to a customer to get a better idea of your options.
For example, if you have a socks business, your categories will include - sports socks, casual socks, men's socks, kid's socks, and women's socks as a general service.
B. Think Like a Customer
Consider how your potential customer would search for similar products with the basic categories in mind. You can add those keywords to your headings to match your viewer's search.
For example, your potential customer will search men's sports socks.
C. Include Specific Keywords
To target the prospective customers who search for particular features about products, you will have to add the exact keywords to your headings. These ads will only show up when they match those precise searches. This method will reduce your reach but might increase the potential of getting a customer.
For example, you can use men's black casual socksā to reach only the viewer who wishes to buy brown shoes for men.
D. Add General Keywords
To reach a wider audience, you should create some ads with generic keywords. Including generic keywords will increase your chances of Google showing your ad for more searches, providing you with broad-spectrum visibility. General keywords are the most searched terms on search engines when a service or product similar to yours is being looked for.
For example, the general keyword for a shoe business would be men's socks.
E. Group Similar Keywords
Grouping similar keywords into the Google ad group can help you better promote your products to the targeted audience. You can group the keywords based on your products, services, and other categories defining your business.
8. Create Multiple Ads
Don't choose to create only one or two ads. Instead, for a successful campaign, make at least four to five ad copies. Using the probability methods, even if your three ads don't improve your CTRs, two still will bring in as much traffic as they can. Google updates itself to show those ads more popular with the crowd, giving you more chances to increase your CTRs. Make sure that every ad has a different look, so it doesn't bore the viewer, or they might even block your ads in the worst-case scenario. Design every ad copy to perform its best on every platform that it is launched on.
Further, conduct A/B testing for conversion rate optimization (CRO). A/B testing is done by presenting two variants and checking which one works better and is more effective on the given population.
Elements to Check During A/B Testing for an Ad Copy -
- Headlines
- Primary Ad Text
- CTA
- Images
- Promo
- Style of Content Writing
- Length of the Ad Copy
Tools for A/B Testing for an Ad Copy: Multiple tools are available for testing multiple copies for effectiveness. AdEspresso by Hootsuite is one such tool that allows you to simultaneously compare the copies and give you results based on your manual factors.
9. Add Numbers to the Text Cleverly
Numbers are attractive. Good numbers, more so! Psychologically, humans tend to connect the numbers they read to the amount they will be spending if they purchase your item. To attract more clicks, cleverly use these numbers in your texts to entice your viewers.
Use percentages to show the discount on reduced prices. Moreover, instead of saying only for $70ā , go for $30 off the MRPā for more engagement.
10. Arouse Emotions
A good ad arouses emotions and engages those emotions to urge the viewer to take action. The sellers are human, and the consumers are human too. Use the pain points to make the viewer feel that your product can really help them.
11. Add Facts and Visuals
A great way to indulge the interests of your prospective customers is by showing them facts about your product. You can add reviews, feedback, and testimonials from your clients to increase the trust level of customers in your brand. To attract viewers, you can also incorporate images and videos that make the viewer curious to see your ad and click through to get more. Otherwise, they may just scroll through your ad without even noticing that it exists.
12. Add a Time Limit
Urgency is yet another manner to control the actions of your prospects. Your ad may reach the consumers, but they may never click on it. To make them click your ad, use the human need to complete something before the last chance. We are designed to be attracted to things that may not last long, especially when it comes to saving money. And sales are the best way to earn while making your consumer feel like they saved money.
Use terms in your headings and banners like - Now!, Today!, Ending soon, Your last chance to grab this offer!ā
Copy Testing Methods
Pretesting is usually involved in the process of creating an ad copy. These tests use research-based quantitative methods. Analysts test a group of people for the expected reactions by showing the advertisements to know the success of the ad copy.
The benefit of copy testing before launching the advertisement is to learn about the weak points and strong points of the copy and check how it affects the viewer based on focused demographics.
The Main Copy Testing Methods Are -
- Consumer Jury
- Rating Scales
- Portfolio Tests
- Psychological Tests
- Physiological Tests
- Sales Test
- Day-after Recall Tests
Tools for Ad Copy Testing
- Qualtrics: With over 11k brands using Qualtrics, you can be sure they know what they do. They feature the testing of ads for their impact on the online population and on-demand demos.
- AdHawk: You can create 27 different variations of your extended text ads for Google on AdHawk and test their efficiency to maximize your ROI in three simple steps.
- MECLABS Method: The conversion sequence brewed by the MECLABS Institute brings sustainable success to the marketing department of any business. It is based on studies done for several years using real products and services. The formula is as follows -
C = 4 m + 3 v + 2 (i - f) - 2 a
Here, C = probability of conversion
m =Ā visitor motivation,
v = force of value proposition,
I = incentive offsetting friction that cannot be eliminated,
f = presence of friction,
a = anxiety in the process
FAQs -
1. What Are Ad Copies in Advertisements?
An ad copy is the umbrella term used to describe the content used in an advertisement. It includes the use of text and visual tools to grab the attention of the viewers.
2. What Are Ad Copy Strategies?
Ad copy strategies are proven methods of getting new traffic to your business through advertisements posted on various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc. The improved visibility, in turn, increases your CTR and ROIs.
3. What Should Be the Prime Focus of an Ad Copy?
The advertisement should involve the pain points and the solutions to those pain points for the customers. Keep the goal of the ad copy in mind, so you don't mix up different aims together, confusing the potential customer.
4. What Are the Key Points to Remember While Creating Ads?
Create an ad that entices the viewer into wanting to know more about your brand. Keep your selling point clear to the viewers and attract them with incomparable promotions.
5. What Are the Three Best Strategies to Focus On to Double Ctr and Increase ROI?
The three best and most important strategies to focus on to improve CTR and ROIs are keeping the content aligned with your goal, using imagery to make a better impact, and adding CTAs to include the viewers and turn them into your customers.
Conclusion
Ad copies are critical to increasing your CTRs and ROI. Using the strategies detailed above, you can get more traffic to your website and double your CTRs. The most important part of the ad copy strategies is testing them in real-time, improving on what doesn't work, and trying again. Just focus on what your customers want from your brand and work on it to make a successful campaign.